Gas-fired appliances that cycle on and off often have a pilot burner that provides a flame whose purpose is to light the main burner of the appliance when there is a call for heat. In some cases, pilot burners can also provide a safety control mechanism to help ensure that if the pilot flame is extinguished for any reason, then the supply of gas to the whole appliance is cut off.
Pilot burners for gas-fired appliances often include a pilot burner tube which defines a flame opening at one end, a thermo-electric device and a spark source. The relative alignment and/or positioning of the various components of a pilot burner can affect the operation and/or reliability of the pilot burner. In some cases, several machined parts, fixtures, and/or assembly tools are required to help ensure that the pilot burner's functional tolerances are maintained, which can be expensive. Also, it can be desirable to allow a technician or other person to remove and/or replace one or more of the components of a pilot burner in the field. In many cases, this can be difficult and time consuming given the construction of many conventional pilot burners.